Viair 88P & 87P Vs. Pittsburgh Portable 12 Volt Air Compressors Comparison

I put the Viair 88P and 87P along with Harbor Freights Pittsburgh compressors up against each other. Which one is the best beginner portable air compressor for off-roading? I am not sponsored by any company and bought all the compressors with my own money.
88P - amzn.to/3OORSQh
87P - amzn.to/3ylXzy2
HF - www.harborfreight.com/12v-150...
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[@johnnydiaz4420]

This was one of the most thorough videos ive watched in a long time. Easy and straight to the point. Thank you!

[@PostalRedneck]

Thanks. I wanted to make a video with more info in it than most people are sharing. I think its strange people leave out how long of a reach these pumps will make it as I was shocked to see the 87P almost not make it to the tire. Glad you enjoyed the video and thank for taking the time to comment.

[@frankchacon388]

Great demo...!!! Thanks for taking your time to do this vid... awesome work...!!!

[@PostalRedneck]

Thanks glad you liked it!

[@chrisdhorn]

Really well done. Informative, unbiased and backed by data.

[@PostalRedneck]

Thanks. I made sure to take my time to document everything correctly so people could make a decision on which one would work best for them

[@scifijunky1979]

I know that it’s just an opinion, but I think it’s premature to say that the Pittsburgh can’t be relied on for long term usage when you recently bought it. I bought my girlfriend the Pittsburgh, and we used it for over two years now, and it has exceeded expectations. We used it on her Jeep and my truck while it was going flat for weeks until I got a new tire for it, and it never failed. We also used it on her small schoolie, since she decided to sell it, and all of her tires were low. I gotta say, it got really hot, but it got the job done fully inflating all of the tires.

[@PostalRedneck]

Honestly I have used the Pittsburgh one myself countless times since this video and its holding up great other than the bag it came in witch has fallen apart and has been tossed in the trash. For the most part all of the compressors get very hot so I wouldnt be too concerned about that. I tend to have to let them sit for a bit or store them in a way that after im done they dont melt anything they touch. I appreciate this comment you posted and happy to hear the Pittsburgh you have is performing as good as it is and thanks for sharing your experience with it.

[@2dayvid]

Awesome comparison! Thank you! I went out and bought the Pittsburgh. Haven't used it yet.

[@PostalRedneck]

Thanks. I think they are all great compressors but the Pittsburgh is the most universal. The reach it has is very useful.

[@kuladeeluxe]

Excellent run down. Answered all the relevant questions. I'm guessing the build quality is superior in the Viair units.

[@PostalRedneck]

Thanks. Viair is a well known company that makes a verity of 12v compressor. Im not saying the Pittsburgh compressor is bad it just dont have the history Viair has backing it up.

[@johnnyhacks507]

Very interesting side by side. Cool video

[@PostalRedneck]

Yeah it was nice to even see for myself the difference between the 3.

[@sojourn1544]

Nice video..very informative...thanks!

[@PostalRedneck]

Thanks glad it was helpful!

[@R_Arizona]

Thank you for the video.

[@PostalRedneck]

You're welcome

[@skepticsr_us]

Great test

[@PostalRedneck]

Thank you!

[@fuzzlestick]

Thank You, well done.

[@PostalRedneck]

Thanks!

[@WASTED__POTENTIAL]

Look up the maintenance video on the HF unit. The top of the cylinder "heat sink" is just a plastic cover. The cylinder wall "heat sink" is also just a cover that doesn't touch the actual cylinder sleeve. I'm willing to bet the working parts under those covers are a lot hotter. If I had the HF unit, I would throw away the plastic top cover and drill holes in the square cylinder cover for ventilation.

[@1987FX16]

They put the plastic on top for lawsuit reasons. It will burn you after airing up 4 33x12.5s. I left mine off after modding it to used regular quick disconnects and port radiused the intake and exhaust ports. Tested it with a 7 gallon tank and got 1.3-1.5CFM depending of supplied voltage. Originally bought it just to air a slow leak tire up everyday until the new tires came in. That was 3 years ago now it lives in the little daily with 26in tires, it works great for passenger car tires or stock sized small truck tires.

[@PostalRedneck]

Thanks for the info! I went outside and pulled the compressor out and sure enough the top is plastic. Seems kinda dumb they would do that honestly but they must have there reason. Thanks again for pointing that out.

[@WASTED__POTENTIAL]

@@PostalRedneck as the previous reply said, it's probably a combination of liability and cost cutting. It looks like they all have an air gap between the cylinder wall and the side fins though, so I wouldn't count that against the HF pump. I doubt it matters considering how little surface area there is without a fan. They're all a huge jump up in quality over the cheap pumps with plastic pistons.

[@PostalRedneck]

Yeah I had an old plastic piston pump and took it apart as it took ages to even get a car tire to 15psi. This was back when I was like 18. They are very cheaply constructed and a waist of money. All 3 of these pumps are great for someone who is not going to be using them every weekend. I love having all 3 and use them more than I thought I would.

[@edsonherald3720]

! ! ! GREAT JOB ! ! !

[@PostalRedneck]

Thanks!

[@BigFishOverlanding]

Thanks for doing the testing man. Any updates after a few months of use on the Pittsburgh?

[@PostalRedneck]

Honestly have not used the Pittsburgh one more than a hand full of times. I did loan it out to a buddy and he used it a few times when he was on an off road trip and he liked it. I will say the long hose is nice and it packs away good but the 88P that I have had now for 4 years has been well used and abused and keeps on kick'n. The 88P is my go too when ever I have to air up a tire or I go off roading.

[@Daughertydylan]

I had one of the Pittsburgh ones and after inflating 4 large truck tires to ~55 PSI it got so hot that the fuse actually melted on the unit. HF is obviously known for their impeccable quality control standards, so I know that 1 unit can be excellent and the next a lemon. Just watch the temps if you are airing up more than one tire and be sure to allow for the unit to cool down!

[@PostalRedneck]

You have to be care full as these do have a sorta duty cycle to them. I cant quite remember what it is. You have to also make sure the vehicle is running as it will pull less amps at 14v.

[@matthewlinenfelser380]

I have the baby version of your hf one. I like it for $35. Much better than the yellow plastic one hf sells.

[@PostalRedneck]

Yeah for something I use quite often I like the Viair 88P. You got a link to the one you use? How often do you use it?

[@WilliamVG]

Looking to hard wire a small air compressor for my Jeep JL, been checking out the 87P. Just need something reliable in a small footprint.

[@PostalRedneck]

Thats what I was originally going to do with my 88P but never got around to it.

[@fugunosan89]

excelente video, comprare el 88p que ya incluye bolsa en amazon mexico.

[@PostalRedneck]

Thanks.

[@bobbyg2675]

Would the Vlair 88p work well with 33 inch KO2 AT tires? Need something to air down to 20psi then back to 39psi for the roads.

[@PostalRedneck]

Im sure it would work but keep in mind this is a low budget compressor so if you plan on doing this a lot then get something a bit better otherwise I have used the 88p a few times to air up 33's to about 30 psi.

[@billtinnell2206]

I bought the Husky 12v inflater at Home Depot for $40.00. For price and performance you can't beat it.

[@PostalRedneck]

Not bad. Ill have to look that one up.

[@pastoryoda2789]

Any Inflator that gets juice from the cigarette hole is no good

[@davetrask2276]

1st ad to show up... Harbor Freight..lol

[@PostalRedneck]

Thats perfect. I guess they got the ad's right for this video.

[@thebigstink]

Pittsburg HF 100 PSI version is on sale rn for $25, pretty decent price

[@PostalRedneck]

I doubt it would be anywhere as good as the bigger one. You have to remember a cig lighter is restricted to a 10amp draw.

[@thebigstink]

@@PostalRedneck yeah that’s definitely a good point. I went out and bought it already, so I guess we’ll see how she goes

[@thebigstink]

@@PostalRedneck gotta say bro, using it for my sedan is just fine, worked like a charm.

[@PostalRedneck]

Thanks for getting back so anyone interested in that one can see if it worked good or not and thats good to hear it did. For that price if it works even a little its better than being stranded with no options but to wait for a tow truck. Ive owned 2 cig plug in compressors before and they both worked but took about 5 minutes to air up a tire 10psi. That was years ago and the HF one you got looks like it would work pretty good.

[@joshua43214]

great review. 88p has it :)

[@PostalRedneck]

I love my 88p. I always have it on me and have used it so many times on trips.

[@doofhund3526]

I hate coiled hoses. They are a pain. I have the 87P and the hose is okay for my Forester, but I bought the extension hose so I wouldn’t have to move the compressor so much. Of course it doesn’t fit in the carrying case with the compressor.

[@PostalRedneck]

Yeah the coiled hose is not fun to fight with especially if you have a flat tire and are in a bad mood already. I kinda wish they just made the hose 2 feet longer.

[@LorettaPowell]

I'm confused about tire size. It sounded like you said a 16 inch tire is a 31 inch tire. I just got a 12 volt compressor and I am trying to find out what i can use it for. I am guessing the class A motorhome tire isn't going to get aired up.

[@PostalRedneck]

The tire size is 265/75R16. The 16 in that number is the rim size. The tire size in inches is 31.65 inch x 7.82 inch on a 16 inch rim. Just measure the tire from ground to top of the tire and that will give you the estimated tire size and then get a compressor that is rated for that size tire.

[@LorettaPowell]

@@PostalRedneck thank you very much

[@PostalRedneck]

Dont listen to him. Its a shame people forget that not everyone starts out knowing everything. Keep asking questions from people who you believe are going to yield the correct information. KZbin is an amazing location to ask for help. Every now and then you run into people like Tool Time and you just have to laugh and ignore them. I just like everyone else started off walking before we could run so take it slow and have fun.

[@xX-Trey58-Xx]

Y’all should add a 19.5 tire. The psi gets to 110.

[@PostalRedneck]

That tire had a 44psi rating. I wasn't about the pressure it was about if they were efficient enough to getting you home or to a tire shop or if they are worth buying. If you end up getting one and doing a test leave your findings in the comment section in case someone else is interested in the information.

[@nibelungvalesti]

You're a pump saint.

[@PostalRedneck]

Haha Thanks!

[@WV591]

my VIAIR 88P - 00088 Compressor lasted less than 20 minutes just topping off couple of cars 2-3 PSI

[@PostalRedneck]

Man that sucks. Ive owned my 88P now for 4 years and would almost say I abuse it. Were they 80psi tires or something? I have yet to test to see how they do at anything higher than 45psi. Also did you have the vehicle running when you were using it? They require 14volts to run and a sitting vehicle only creates 12.6 at most.

[@WV591]

@@PostalRedneck just a nissan sentra 195 size tires which is 34 PSI and camry tires and I only topped them off about 3 PSI due to changing weather.and yes I had cars running.don't want to drain battery. even scotty i think uses that one. any way I suspect it was someone's return cause the rubber bumper feet were worn and it also had some scratches on side. I ordered another one.

[@PostalRedneck]

​@@WV591 I sure hope the worked with you and got you a replacement and that you were not forced to buy another. My 88P has been a great compressor. Sounds like you did everything right. Some people dont know the vehicle has to be running and will burn them up. I sure hope the next one treats you wayyyyy better then the last one you got.

[@michaelrivera4299]

Just got it on sale with coupon of $55

[@PostalRedneck]

Is that the Pittsburgh compressor im guessing? I was hoping to buy that one on sale but it never seems to go on sale.

[@rickjames5998]

why even test the 87 if you got the 88p?

[@PostalRedneck]

Because im a mad man

[@btx5740]

They work better if you just jack up the vehicle

[@PostalRedneck]

I dont know if you were aware of this but this was a comparison video. Also I would love to see proof of your claim. I would like to add that it would work even better if the tire was fully inflated from the start.

[@Beelzebububble]

Is the Pittsburg still working?

[@PostalRedneck]

Pittsburg is still up and running great. I have used it now out in the dunes to air up my tires 5 or 6 times. The little bag it came in has given up though and fell apart pretty easy. Other than that its almost my go to compressor with how much reach it has.

[@xaguilar1417]

Had me at hello red neck😂

[@PostalRedneck]

Haha yeah its my standard intro but for someone new to the channel its probably a bit of an odd intro.